So Mojo (Parrotlet) is molting something fierce. He is absolutely covered in pins and cranky as anything. He gets mad when I try and help him. He won't let me or Wasabi near them without a total meltdown. Is it better to try and rub them out for him or let them come out themselves?

Its a stressful time for them and they will be very cranky. Lots of showers help the itchies. You will know when they are at the top and ready for help. Be patient though. If you help pop them too soon they can bleed.

I agree with Leigh. You can offer help and if he wants it he'll respond, but if he doesn't want your help he'll also let you know I'd offer him showers/baths and when my guys are heavily molting I also try to get them to bed early so that they have a full night's sleep and that seems to help with the crankiness. He'll also learn how to scratch on toys or perches too.

Their mate usually takes care of the head and face area but if they don't have one, it falls to the guardians to do it only it's not so easy to judge when they are ready to fall off.
The sheath (pin) is made of keratin and it crumbles into dust when it's dry and pressure is applied to it but it also has a capillary running all the way to the end so the feather can grown inside and it only dries up and is safe to 'crumble' when the capillary 'died' off after the feather is ready to come out. I don't know if I am making myself clear but, in any case, touch only the ones that are already the same length as the feather would be when fully grown, never the ones that are shorter, and only touch in the same direction that the feather growns, never against it.

When Ruby is molting, she likes me to add a little Aloe Vera to her spray bath.

With pin feathers, I pinch only the very tip. This enables the rest of the sheath to break up more quickly.

But I do wonder why, when you are up in Alaska, your bird is molting. The days are shortest now, it is winter. Birds don't usually molt in the winter - they generally have more feathers at this time. My birds had their molt months ago.

Thanks. Great advice. I'll try giving him a bath, haven't tried that.

Marie - Mojo is only 4 months old, so it's his "first molt"... and hopefully doesn't last as long as Wasabi. Wasabi seemed to be molting forever. I was happy when I go Mojo and Mojo would take care of Wasabi's head since he doesn't like fingers and always had pins on his head.

And yes...Mo is quite cranky.. makes this little whining sound. Doesn't bite, just definitely is not happy. I work late but he puts himself to bed before I get home and probably once the sun goes down which is around 3:30 here...if not earlier. He doesn't stir until around 8 when I get up in the morning.

Oh, he is just a little baby. Yes, that explains it. His first molt. Sort of like the first tooth Of course, he is cranky.

He is too young still but, in the future, watch the protein intake. Birds that eat too much protein have bad molts (long, long molts that never end and the awful porcupine effect) while birds that eat as they should have easy ones.